Digital Surge vs. Coinstash: Which Is Better In 2023?

Digital Surge and Coinstash come from similar beginnings yet possess a wealth of differences in their cryptocurrency products and services. Are they amongst the best cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia?

In this comparison, we review the similarities and differences of each platform and see which comes out on top using important criteria such as products and services, ease of use, deposit options, trading experience, supported cryptocurrency, fees, security, and customer support.

Quick Comparison

ITEM	DIGITAL SURGE	COINSTASH
Fiat Currencies	AUD, NZD	AUD
Supported Cryptocurrencies	300	340
Deposit Methods	Bank transfer, POLi, PayID, BPAY	PayID, bank transfer, cryptocurrency
Deposit Fees	None ($2 – $3.30 for POLi)	None
Trading Fees	0.5%	0.85%
Withdrawal Fees	None	None
Advanced Trading Orders	Yes	No
In-built Tax Tools	Yes	No
Mobile App	Yes (iOS and Android)	Yes (iOS and Android)
Live Chat Support	Yes	Yes

A Brief Overview

Digital Surge

Digital Surge is a relatively new Brisbane-based platform that was established with the vision of simplifying the cryptocurrency world for everyday Australians. The platform and its features have been designed to achieve exactly this and users are able to buy and sell over 300 digital currencies with ease.

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Digital Surge has proven to be a safe and secure platform and is building a reputation as a trustworthy cryptocurrency option for Australians. In Australia, Digital Surge is registered with AUSTRAC as a digital currency exchange and complies with strict AML/CTF and KYC regulations and transaction monitoring programs.

The founders of Digital Surge are on a mission to make cryptocurrency accessible to the everyday Australian. They are also intimately involved in the local community by running several grassroots events for people wanting to learn and get into crypto.

You can find out more about their products and services from our Digital Surge review.

Digital Surge Pros & Cons

Coinstash

Coinstash is a new cryptocurrency brokerage that aims to become Australia’s top all-in-one digital assets platform. Coinstash was established in 2020 in response to gaps in the Australian crypto market that posed issues to the consumer.

We work with partners that may result in MoreCrypto earning a small commission. Read our affiliate disclaimer for further information.

The Brisbane-based platform is owned by TWMT Pty Ltd, a fully registered digital currency exchange provider in Australia. Since its establishment, the platform has rapidly grown to a user base of over 20,000 who have the opportunity to buy and sell over 340 digital assets. The platform endeavors to expand its services to provide you with a means of getting the best out of your crypto rather than having them sit idle in your account. These include interest-earning investments, credit cards, lending, and borrowing services.

Coinstash continues to experience rapid growth with significant increases in trading volume. The platform has been backed by several influential private investors such as Voyager Ventures and seeks to expand its service offerings to crypto users in New Zealand and Singapore.

You can find out more about their products and services from our Coinstash review.

Coinstash Pros & Cons

Deposit Methods

Before cryptocurrencies can be purchased, users need to fund their account wallets with fiat currencies. The method by which an account wallet is funded is a personal choice that differs amongst investors. Deposit methods are an important aspect that should be considered to support convenience and minimize fees.

Account financing options that are commonly available in the Australian crypto market are supported by Digital Surge including bank transfer, POLi, PayID, and BPAY. In contrast, you are only able to deposit Australian Dollars (AUD) into your Coinstash account via bank transfer or PayID. Both platforms do not support the use of credit/debit cards to fund your account.

Compared to Digital Surge, Coinstash deposit methods are slightly more limited. Digital Surge has the advantage over Coinstash Digital Surge as it provides you with greater account financing options and flexibility.

DEPOSIT METHOD	DIGITAL SURGE	COINSTASH
Direct bank transfer	Yes	Yes
POLi	Yes	No
PayID	Yes	Yes
BPAY	Yes	No
Credit card	No	No
Crypto from external wallet	Yes	No

Crypto Products & Services

Both Digital Surge and Coinstash are geared toward the everyday Australian including beginners who might be buying their first cryptocurrencies. This is reflective in the crypto products and services they offer as well as their respective user-friendly interfaces.

Key crypto features offered by Digital Surge include:

• An impressive range of digital currencies such as BTC, LINK, ETH, ADA, and MATIC can be bought directly with AUD.
• Easily generate crypto tax reports that detail your trading activities and gains made during the financial year to inform your tax return.
• Pay Australian bills using the BPAY Bitcoin biller code.
• Premium crypto educational resources in the Crypto Hub.
• SMSF support where advanced trading orders and Dollar-Cost-Averaging (DCA) can be applied to mitigate risks associated with volatile price movements.

Key crypto features of Coinstash include:

• One of the largest selections of digital currencies available in Australia (340+).
• Purchase crypto in bundles to quickly diversify your portfolio whilst incurring fewer fees than you would be conducting multiple transactions.
• Earn up to 8% pa on your crypto such as BTC (3.1%), ETH (3.6), USDT (8%), and PAX (8%).

FEATURE	DIGITAL SURGE	COINSTASH
Tax Reporting Tools	Yes	No
Staking	No	Yes
Advanced Charting	No	Yes
SMSF Support	Yes	No
Pay Australian bills with BTC	Yes	No
Crypto Bundles	No	Yes
Leveraged Margin Trading	No	No
OTC	No	No

In terms of service offerings, there are some subtle differences between Digital Surge and Coinstash. Services that are supported by Digital Surge and are not available to Coinstash customers include SMSF support, crypto income tax reports, as well as the ability to use the BTC biller code to pay for Australian bills. In our opinion, coin staking in general is a feature that doesn’t factor heavily in one’s decision to commit to an exchange. It’s rather a feature that provides utility to existing customers. Overall, Digital Surge’s crypto products and services hold a slight advantage as they appeal to the wider audience where their value can be acted upon.

How Do The Fees Compare?

An attractive feature of Coinstash is that they do not charge any fees for you to deposit or withdraw AUD to and from your account wallet. This is relatively common in the Australian crypto market. The downside of Coinstash, however, is that their flat trading fee of 0.85% is not as low as other Australian crypto platforms including Digital Surge.

Digital Surge charges a $2 – $3.30 fee for deposits made using POLi. This is somewhat annoying but it can be easily avoided by using PayID or OSKO which are free. The very competitive trading fee of 0.5% puts Digital Surge ahead in this category.

As an added advantage, Digital Surge trading fees are structured in a tiered system which means that your trading fees decrease if your trading volume meets certain thresholds. For example, if the trading volume is $120,000 then a fee of 0.4% will apply instead of 0.5%.

Over the long term, Digital Surge provides better value for money than Coinstash based on its lower trading fee of 0.5%.

Which Platform Is Easier To Use?

Ease of use for investors is an important factor to take into consideration. The design of an interface will affect how intuitive it is for beginners. Are features and functions presented in a neat and holistic manner that makes them easily identifiable?

We found the Digital Surge and Coinstash interfaces to share a lot of similarities in terms of their layout and organization. Both were easy to navigate and use including the account financing and cryptocurrency purchasing process.

Both platforms have been designed with simplicity in mind whilst retaining a high level of functionality. If you thinking of buying your first cryptocurrencies through Digital or Coinstash, then you don’t need to worry about complex charting or advanced trading features to distract you. The learning curve on both platforms will be short.

Which Is Better For Crypto Trading?

The power and functionality of crypto trading on Coinstash are far greater than Digital Surge. However, choosing between the two depends on your investment or trading strategy. If you just want to buy and hold a range of digital currencies to build a long-term store of value then both platforms are perfectly fine to use. If you are an experienced trader who wants to analyze the price action of crypto then Coinstash is your option.

Coinstash offers you the ability to switch between Basic and Advanced trading interfaces. It is the advanced version that will appeal to experienced traders. This is because the powerful TradingView charting full suite of analytical tools and indicators is available to analyze the price action of digital currencies. Digital Surge simply presents the market price of an asset over time.

Are Both Platforms Secure To use?

Based on our research, Digital Surge and Coinstash have not experienced any security breaches that have resulted in the loss, theft, or damage of digital assets or customer funds. Both crypto platforms are registered with AUSTRAC and comply with strict AML/CTF and KYC regulations.

Coinstash and Digital Surge implement industry-standard security measures to safeguard customer funds and digital assets against potential loss, theft, or damage. Controls include the storage of the majority of held assets at highly secure offline locations, withdrawal restrictions, geo-lock logins, and 2FA. A small advantage is that biometric fingerprint logins can be set up on the Digital Surge mobile app to add an extra layer of account protection.

How Do The Mobile Apps Compare?

Swyftx and Digital Surge provide their users with mobile apps that are compatible with iOS and Android devices. Most of the features that are available on the desktop version can be accessed, with the exception of live charting on the Swyftx app. Biometric fingerprint login, a feature not commonly available in the crypto industry, can be set up on both the Swyftx and Digital Surge apps.

In our experience, the Swyftx mobile app performed smoothly and we did not experience any difficulties buying cryptocurrencies, contacting the customer support team, or toggling the demo mode. On the other hand, the Digital Surge mobile app allows its users to access all features. The app is as visually appealing and intuitive as the desktop version which will be highly appealing to beginner investors.

Customer Support

Avenues to customer support on the Digital Surge platform are limited to email and the 24/7 live chatbot. The same methods are available to Coinstash customers with the addition of Meta Messenger. For two locally operated crypto platforms, it would be nice to see direct phone support for their customers to obtain immediate assistance.

Comparison Outcomes

To assist investors and traders in making an informed decision, we have summarised the assessment outcomes for each category. Based on our comparison review, Digital Surge is seen as the better cryptocurrency platform option for Australians.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA	WINNER	REASON
Deposit Methods	Digital Surge	More deposit options are supported.
Features	Digital Surge	The platform offers service for a broader audience.
Fees	Digital Surge	Digital Surge is cheaper.
Ease Of use	Tie	Both platforms are easy to use and navigate.
Trading	Coinstash	TradingView package on the advanced interface.
Security & Safety	Tie	No historical security breaches have been reported.
Mobile App	Tie	Both mobile apps are responsive and highly functional.
Customer Support	Tie	Local and responsive support teams for both platforms.

Digital Surge Versus Coinstash: Our Verdict

Coinstash and Digital Surge are relative newcomers to the Australian crypto market. Both platforms market themselves to beginner or novice crypto traders and offer products and services that exemplify this. Other similarities include a wide selection of digital currencies that be bought with AUD, robust security frameworks, and simple and intuitive platforms.

Choosing between Coinstash and Digital Surge really depends on what your crypto intentions are. Both platforms are great for buying and holding cryptocurrency in the hope that they increase in value. However, if you know or want to start learning how to analyze the price action of crypto then the TradingView charting package offered by Coinstash is a no-brainer. Those that want to invest in their SMSF should consider Digital Surge since this service is not offered by Coinstash.